12-hour Days But Growth Is Slowing? 10 Signs You May Be The Bottleneck In Your Business
Scott Pollack 庞国治
CEO+LEADERSHIP Team Coach ◆ Board Member ◆ Strategic Advisor ◆ Helping Entrepreneurial CEOs Successfully Scale Their Businesses with Greater Ease, Speed and Confidence
Jane is a successful entrepreneur. She is Founder and CEO of Mid-sized Scale-up Inc. (“MSI”), a profitable $8M dollar business that has grown 15-25% year on year for the last 3 years. She is considered a thought leader in her industry; her customers love her; and she is widely admired by her team. Jane looks ready to take her business to the next level.
Well, maybe not. In recent quarters, Jane has seen a few of her top managers quit to join competitors, and some of their best people have followed. Product development has slowed. A stretched customer service team has been receiving ever more complaints from clients. MSI’s market growth is soaring, but the company’s growth is slowing down. Meanwhile, Jane continues to work ever harder, putting in longer hours, and keeping her eye on the details. She is exhausted and frustrated that she can’t drive the business faster. And Jane is starting to wonder whether she might be the bottleneck in her business.
I’ve coached many entrepreneurs like Jane who have built successful businesses in which they are both the most valuable resource AND the biggest bottleneck hampering further scaling. Many have reached a point where the very strengths that led to success can hinder progress. Could you be holding your business back? Here are 10 common signs that you may be the bottleneck in your own business:
1?? SLOW DECISION-MAKING
Decisions that used to take hours now taking days or weeks. Almost every decision, no matter how small, gets funneled through you, the entrepreneur. For instance, you must personally approve every marketing campaign, product update, or budget allocation. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your own business.
2?? DECREASED PRODUCTIVITY
The company's productivity stagnates or decreases despite hiring more (and more competent) staff or implementing new technologies. For example, product launches are repeatedly delayed. You expect to review and approve every aspect of a new product before launch, from design to marketing strategy; however, the product team gets frustrated when they are unable to get your timely feedback. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
3?? CONSTANT BACKLOG
There's a consistent pattern of tasks piling up behind you. For example, team members frequently wait on feedback, approvals, or input from the you. The resulting backlog slows your momentum and theirs. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
4?? HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
You are losing too many of your best people -- the A (or Potential A) Players who are both capable of delivering results and are a culture fit. A Players want leaders who support them while trusting them to take on challenging roles and projects. An entrepreneur's inability to effectively delegate can lead to A Player frustration, burnout, and feeling undervalued, which ultimately could lead to A Players leaving. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
5?? POOR WORK-SELF-LIFE BALANCE
You are unable to maintain a dynamic and healthy work-self-life balance due to the demands of the business. For example, you regularly spend late nights and weekends catching up on tasks that could be delegated. You are often exhausted, which impacts your performance as well as your ability to effectively support others who depend on you. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
6?? UNDER-UTILIZED or POORLY PLACED TALENT
The skills and talents of employees are not fully utilized. For example, a highly skilled data analyst is spending time on administrative tasks because you have not delegated key analytical tasks to him (perhaps because you don’t have the time to do so). This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
7?? INCONSISTENT QUALITY OF WORK
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Your overwhelming pressure to be involved in every aspect of the business may result in neglect of certain areas. For example, customer service declines because you are too busy with other key accountabilities to properly oversee this function. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
8?? CONSISTENTLY MISSED DEADLINES
You may be over-committed or involved in too many projects. As a result, projects cannot progress because they are waiting for your input or sign-off, and you are too busy to review them. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
9?? REGULAR COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS
Inadvertent failure to distribute information effectively can cause significant disruption to business flows. For example, if you are the primary conduit for client communication, your occasional neglect to relay essential details to the team can result in project delays and mistakes. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
?? SLOW(ING) BUSINESS GROWTH
You find yourself spending significantly more time working “in” the business (e.g., at the execution / task level) than you do working “on” the business (e.g., on strategic planning, securing funding and/or exploring new market opportunities). Getting too caught up in day-to-day operations without a bigger picture perspective can greatly hinder the growth of the company relative to market opportunity. This may be an indication that you are the bottleneck in your business.
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If, like Jane, you see several of these issues in your business, you may be the bottleneck. But you can eliminate these problems. More important, you can catch them before they drag down your business – and you. I’ve personally helped dozens of entrepreneurs install proven systems, disciplines and habits that have helped them avoid and break bottlenecks to successfully scale their businesses to the next level and beyond.
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Dead on Scott Pollack 庞国治. This problem is unfortunately all too prevalent and requires regular reminders and self-reflection to own, and make progress toward resolving.
Founder and CEO of Panda Eagle Group
1 年A concise and well written article. I think founders need to admit to themselves that there is a bottleneck and admit that they are the cause. I think this is a big first step. If a founder can get out of their own way it could really help the situation and avoid many future issues. A related topic is micromanagement and/or letting team members do their job. Founders have to want the help.
Relationships are the difference between contacts and contracts
1 年Very interesting read Scott Pollack 庞国治, so insightful
Representing, supporting and connecting UK Business, Government and People in China
1 年Immensely insightful Scott, when I started my first business it was the first time I engaged a business coach, it seemed like a huge amount of money at the time when all I had was outgoings but it was the best value decision I made both for the business and my own development. I also often engage a 2nd coach to help with specific projects or problems. You can never have enough support
Helping Coaches Get Their First High-Paying Client | Mission to 1 Million | #TheEnergeticIntrovert
1 年Oooh this is so on point Scott !! “Many have reached a point where the very strengths that led to success can hinder progress.” What’s can a CEO start doing to make sure that they are growing with their company? Or even staying one step ahead of the growth of their company?